At the annual general meting of the Malta Bankers’ Association held last month, Tonio Depasquale was elected chairman of the Board of the Association for the coming year.

The other board members are Edward Cachia, David Cauchi, Noel Curmi, Cenk Kahraman, Aldo Minuti, Alan Richards, Victor Rizzo Giusti, Joseph Said, Silke Schermann, and Joaquim da Silva Pinto.

Igino Xuereb will act as chairman of the commercial banks’ executive committee, and Cenk Kahraman will chair the other banks’ executive committee.

James Bonello, Secretary General, will continue to head the Secretariat.

The following banks, which are licensed to operate in Malta, are members of the Association: Akbank T.A.S., APS Bank Ltd, Banif Bank (Malta) plc, Bank of Valletta plc, BAWAG Malta Bank Ltd, CommBank Europe Ltd, Erste Bank(Malta) Ltd, FIMBank plc, Finansbank (Malta) Ltd, Fortis Bank Malta Ltd, HSBC Bank Malta plc, InvestKredit International Bank plc, Izola Bank Ltd, Lombard Bank Malta plc, Mediterranean Bank plc, Raiffeisen Malta Bank plc, Sparkasse Bank Malta plc, Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S. and Volksbank Malta Ltd.

The combined balance sheet total of the association’s member banks exceeds e37 billion, while the number of their full-time employees is around 3,600. The direct contribution of the banking sector to the local economy remains significant, with payroll last year amounting to e100 million, taxation on profit on ordinary activities reaching €91 million, and dividends paid to resident shareholders amounting to over e58 million.